In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their vill

InFebruary 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through theirvillage in northern Canada．The sound of children shouting made her turn around．To her horror, Lydia saw a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son．Getting between the bear andher child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away．She then began hitting andkicking the animal as hard as she could．A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear．But everyone agreed it wasLydia who had saved her children's lives．A local policeman described it this way: “…I guess when your back is upagainst the wall…wecome up with super-human strength．”

Wheredoes this “super-humanstrength”，courageand quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressfulsituations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action．These chemicals give people thespeed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it．

When wethink of stress, we usually think of its negative effects．Studies, though, show thatmoderate levels of stress are actually helpful．In fact, the way we perform is usually affected bythe amount of stress we feel．

Stresscauses the brain to release adrenaline（肾上腺素）which in turn increases our energy and excitement．The chemical gives us clearerminds and helps us to do more．This is why some people say they work better under a deadline．

Adrenalinethat is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase andstrengthen our abilities instead of weakening them．We sometimes turn out our verybest work when we push ourselves to the limit．Stress can also make us more confident．Handling small amounts ofstress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future．Who knows? Today's stress mayeven prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!

1.In thefirst paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to ______．

         A．introduce the topic to befollowed

         B．praise Lydia Angyiou for herbravery

         C．remind us of the unexpecteddanger of life

         D．show the importance ofsuper-human strength

2.Whatdoes the policeman probably mean by saying "your back is up against thewall"?

         A．You are helped．                                         B．You are inspired．

         C．You are confident．                                           D．You are cornered．

3.Whatwould be the best title for the passage?

         A．BraveMother                                                 B．The Cause of Stress

C．The Benefit of Stress                                           D．Super-human Strength

试题答案

【答案】

1.A

2.D

3.C

【解析】略